Harrow News
The latest Harrow news: planning decisions, council and crime updates, business and community stories, each linked back to its official source.
Top story
Harrow's Bodhana Sivanandan, 11, youngest WGM in history
FIDE confirms the 11-year-old Harrow player is the youngest Woman Grandmaster ever, after scoring 8 from 11 on England's top board at the Samarkand Olympiad.
More stories
Schools
Harrow Free School Meal Vouchers in Doubt for Half Term
The DWP says Harrow's holiday vouchers for about 7,000 children break its rules. Half term starts 26 October and the council is still waiting for an answer.
Schools
Harrow Term Dates 2027/28 Set: Schools Return 1 September
Harrow has fixed term dates to 2030. Schools return on Wednesday 1 September 2027, and the 2028 term starts on a Monday after headteachers asked for it.
Planning
Rising Sun, Sudbury Hill: Fire-Hit Pub Approved for 8 Homes
Harrow's planning committee has approved rebuilding the fire-hit Rising Sun on Greenford Road as a shop, six flats and two houses. The vote was unanimous.
Data
Harrow Claimant Count: 8,375, Lowest of London Neighbours
8,375 Harrow residents were claiming unemployment-related benefits in August, 4.8% of 16 to 64s. Brent, Barnet, Ealing and Hillingdon are all higher.
Business
Skipjacks, Kenton, named in UK's top 40 fish and chip shops
Skipjacks on Streatfield Road is one of three London shops in the National Fish & Chip Awards top 40. Next: a cut to 20, then the final on 24 February.
Community
St Dominic's students dig up Harrow on the Hill's lost tower
Students at St Dominic's dug for a tower demolished in 1968 and a possible Armada beacon. The Heritage Fund has now spotlighted the free dig.
Travel
Rayners Lane Red Route: Double Parking Down 83%
Cabinet votes on 24 September on keeping the Rayners Lane red route. Double parking fell from 668 to 115 on a Friday, and a taxi bay returns at the station.
Housing
Harrow HMO Article 4 Rule Faces Permanent Vote 24 Sept
Turning a Harrow house into a 3 to 6 person HMO has needed planning permission since 12 June. Cabinet votes on 24 September on making that permanent.
Community
Harrow's Heroes 2026 winners: all 12 names in full
Ruth Boff and Pinner Rotary took the top prizes at Harrow's Heroes on 16 September. All 12 winners in full, plus how to join the groups that won.
House prices
Harrow house prices July 2026: flats cheaper than 2021
The average Harrow flat sold for £317,917 in July, £8,002 less than five years earlier. Overall prices rose 0.6% on June to £526,493, down 2.8% in a year.
Pinner
Pinner Post Office Closes 14 October, No Consultation Due
Post Office Ltd confirms the Bridge Street branch shuts Wednesday 14 October. It is reviewing applications to replace it, and there is no consultation.
Community
Headstone Manor Award Shortlist: 16 Harrow Groups, £150,000
Headstone Manor is a finalist for a national museum award for Stories of Harrow, which handed £150,000 of a £249,028 Lottery grant straight to 16 local groups.
Travel
Harrow Free Bike Checks: Sat 19 Sept, Katie's Statue
Free bike checks, repairs and security marking at Katie's Statue, Saturday 19 September, 10am to 4pm, plus Harrow's unpublished parking enforcement plans.
Travel
Harrow Trains 20 September: Nothing at Hatch End
Hatch End and Headstone Lane get no trains until 4pm on Sunday 20 September, while a crane lifts out the Oxhey Grange bridge. The Bakerloo still runs.
Planning
Harrow Town Centre Masterplan: Survey Opens 11 September
Harrow's town centre survey opens on 11 September and closes 23 October, with pop-up events on the 19th and 20th. Shop vacancy is 1.7%; offices are at 9.8%.
What's On
The Littlest Yak, Harrow Arts Centre: 27 Sept, from £14
LAStheatre's puppet musical plays Elliott Hall on Sunday 27 September at 12.30pm and 3.30pm. Tickets from £14, 50 minutes with no interval, ages 3 and up.
Planning
Harrow GP Hub: Headstone Road Surgery Set for White House
Headstone Road Surgery would move into Harrow College's listed White House, with hours running to 10pm seven days and 7 parking spaces for a 40-car peak.
Community
Harrow Firm's Walk for St Luke's Hospice Passes £18,300
A Harrow accountancy firm's 6.93-mile walk across nine London bridges has raised £15,474.12, plus £2,866.87 in Gift Aid, for St Luke's Hospice.
Business
The Castle Harrow: pub company wound up, pub still open
The company running The Castle in Harrow on the Hill was wound up on 27 August. The pub still advertises normal hours; its last accounts showed a £321,694 deficit.
What's On
Pinner Village Show: 2027 Date Is Saturday 11 Sept
Pinner Village Show 2026 ran on 12 September; 2027 is pencilled in for 11 September. Running order, past totals (£10,000 in 2025) and where the money goes.
Planning
Headstone Lane 158 Homes: Why the Mayor Could Decide It
At 158 homes the scheme sits eight above the level that lets the Mayor take the decision. Harrow's adopted plan still calls the land green belt.
Council
Free Courses in Harrow: £1.4m Fund, Assessments From 1 Sept
Learn Harrow has £1.4m from City Hall for care, business and school courses. The booking assessments are free and start on 1 September in Kenton.
Council
Harrow litter fines restart 1 September: no camera, no fine
Kingdom officers return on 1 September and no fine stands without camera footage. Harrow fines more per fly-tip than any other London borough.
Harrow Council
Harrow SEND: £800 payout over missed EHC plan deadline
Harrow Council has agreed to pay £800 and rewrite how it runs EHC plan transfers after an Ombudsman ruling. Its separate 20-week record has jumped to 87.6%.
House prices
Harrow house prices: £524,160, lowest since July 2024
The average Harrow home sold for £524,160 in June, the borough's lowest since July 2024. Terraces are the only type still rising, and 19 London boroughs fell.
Travel
Piccadilly Line Closure: No Tube at South Harrow 25-27 Aug
South Harrow loses its only Tube line again from 25 to 27 August, the second closure this month. Rayners Lane keeps the Metropolitan. Every remaining closure date to November.
Harrow Council
Harrow children's services Ofsted: leaders now 'more stable'
Ofsted's third monitoring visit since Harrow was rated inadequate in January 2025 finds a more stable leadership team, and a disabled children's team that will move into children's services.
What's On
Boiler House Festival 2026: two Harrow shows left, £9 a seat
Harrow Arts Centre's mini fringe has two Saturdays to run: alt-pop set CTRL + ALT + OVERWHELMED on 22 August and clown show The Great British Husband Hunt on 29 August. £9, concessions £7.
What's On
Headstone Village Show 2026: 40 years marked on 31 August
Headstone Manor marks 40 years with a 1980s themed village show on Bank Holiday Monday 31 August, 12pm to 5pm. Adults £5, under 12s £3, a group of four £12.
Energy
Harrow Council Solar Panels: Register Free by 25 September
Harrow Council's group-buy solar scheme shuts to registrations on 25 September 2026. Typical market price £7,500, 0% VAT to March 2027, plus what export pays.